The field of the invention is pet shelters and the invention relates more particularly to pet/animal crates.
Animal cages or crates are commonly used by individuals as a means of restricting an animal""s free movement to a particular premises. Although reasons for crating up an animal vary, there are significant advantages for doing so. For example, housetraining a new pet has long been a difficult and frustrating task for many pet owners. Despite the love that these owners have for their companions, they nevertheless face the problem of teaching their pet not to xe2x80x9cgo to the bathroomxe2x80x9d inside of the residence. Additionally, new pets commonly tear up furniture and valuables inside of the home when someone is not available to control such mischievous behavior. As a result, use of a crate to train the pet has become quite common. Similarly, when traveling with a pet, crates are very useful throughout the course of the trip. They give the animal owner complete control over the pet in times where freedom can be dangerous for the pet and others around. Finally, crates have also been widely used to prevent an animal from coming into contact with other animals or humans. Often, an animal needs to be confined to a particular area simply because they do not interact well with others or due to their uncontrollable nature. As a consequence, use of a crate allows individuals to restrain their animal""s aggressive or wild behavior and avoid difficult and harmful situations.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,609, a xe2x80x9cFoldable Pet Shelterxe2x80x9d is one type of animal enclosure which is used for restricting an animal""s free access throughout a residence. Unlike conventional crates, however, which typically have six panels that form a rectangular enclosure, the Foldable Pet Shelter does not have a second end or bottom panel. This is due to the unique design of the Foldable Pet Shelter which substitutes the surface of an exterior panel of a dwelling for the second end panel while the residence floor/ground is used for the bottom panel. By doing this, the Foldable Pet Shelter may be removably mounted to the surface of an exterior panel of a dwelling, around a pet door, so that a pet could enter the shelter with the ability to exit it upon desire. It is notable that the term xe2x80x9cFoldable Pet Shelterxe2x80x9d, (hereinafter xe2x80x9cFPSxe2x80x9d) is defined and understood herein and in all the claims to mean an animal/pet enclosure comprised of a top panel, right side panel, left side panel, and end panel that may be hingedly affixed to a surface of an exterior panel of a dwelling, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,609.
The present invention is for a crate adapter for converting an animal enclosure, such a foldable pet shelter, into a self encased pet/animal crate. The crate adapter has an end panel and bottom panel, both of which may be hingedly joined together. The end panel is removably attachable to the animal enclosure along the back edge perimeter of the left side, right side, and top panels of the animal enclosure, while the bottom panel is removably attachable to the animal enclosure along the bottom edge perimeter of the left side, right side, and front panels of the animal enclosure. When joined together, both the adapter and animal enclosure transform into a self encased, self supporting pet/animal crate which is useful for housetraining a pet as well as restricting its movement within a particular area.
Component lock elements attached along the end and bottom panels of the adapter provide elements for securing the adapter to the animal enclosure. Hinges joining the end and bottom panels of the adapter may further allow both panels to be folded along a vertical plane towards one another. This provides for a convenient and compact formation for storing the adapter when it is not in use with the animal enclosure.